In Brief

25 June, 2010

Chamarré goes underFrench wine producer Chamarré has gone into receivership. The quoted company and its brand were launched in 2005 with the aim of creating an international pan-French wine brand on the model of big New World brands. Sales failed to meet expectations and the company made a loss in 2008 of £2.7 milion. It blamed the global financial crisis and its high levels of debt for its eventual demise.

See Tim Atkin, page 19??Asda promotes long drinksAsda has teamed up with Diageo and CCE for a summer promotion on long drinks. The multiple said it was the first time it had teamed up with two suppliers for a single drinks promotion. The deal offers customers a bottle from the CCE mixer range and a Diageo spirit for £11. Adrian McKeon, category director for BWS at Asda, said: “The aim is to strengthen the link between spirits and mixers in our customers’ eyes and encourage people to purchase them together.”??Cider variants for MorrisonsMorrisons has added two fruit ciders to its own-label drinks range. The orange and raspberry-flavoured products are available until July 11 in 50cl bottles, with a shelf price of £1.50. The drinks have an apple cider base and are being sold under the New Season own-label brand.

Co-op recalls California winesThe Co-op has recalled four Californian wines because of a danger customers could find small pieces of glass in them. The affected products, all in 75cl bottles, included specific lots of own-label Pink Chill Zinfandel Rosé, Fab Cab Ruby Cabernet/Shiraz, and Big Chill Colombard/Chardonnay. Some bottles of Silver Creek Sauvignon Blanc were also withdrawn.

Illicit alcohol seized in SalfordTrading Standards officers seized counterfeit alcohol from 21 shops and four pubs in Salford. Officers visited some 71 outlets in all in the five-day operation, which saw 436 bottles of illicit alcohol seized. Some of the alcohol was found to contain excessive levels of methanol.

ACS promotes partnershipThe Association of Convenience Stores organised a meeting for 50 retailers in Luton to discuss ways to work in partnership with the police, MPs and local authorities, to promote vibrant stores in local communities. ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Too often retailers see double standards when the authorities complain of a lack of resources to tackle crime in and around shops, while finding manpower to conduct test purchases. It was gratifying to see the police and local authorities taking a genuine partnership approach to working with retailers.”

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We’ve all had impressed on us the idea that we mustn’t judge a book by its cover. It’s one we tend to repeat at opportune moments, while singularly failing to follow it when buying books, or anything else.